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This test consists of 5 short answer questions and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who arises to rob Gilgamesh in Line 7 of Column 2?

2. Who is Sin?

3. To whom does Gilgamesh address his lamentions?

4. Including animals, how many lovers does Gilgamesh say that Ishtar has had?

5. Gilgamesh is now afraid of what?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Many lines are missing throughout the story. Some are uninterpretable, while others have been destroyed by wear and tear or lost altogether. Discuss the impact missing lines have on the story. How do they affect understanding of events? How difficult is it for translators to piece together a complete story from different manuscripts each with missing lines?

Essay Topic 2

Boasts and oaths before battle are common in epics. Gilgamesh offers such a boast before he battles Humbaba. Discuss the elements of the heroic boast. Why are such boasts performed? To what narrative technique are boasts similar?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the role of women in the Gilgamesh epic. The courtesan functions to lead Enkidu out of the woods and introduce him to civilization. This could be considered a good event or a bad event. Ishtar becomes enraged when Gilgamesh spurns her love. Ishtar does not easily let her anger go and calls down terrible curses on Gilgamesh and Enkidu.

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This section contains 240 words (approx. 1 page at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample